025.431: The Dewey blog

Winter Olympic Games

Official sites like Olympic.org and Vancouver 2010 are good sources of information about the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.  There are many other sources of news, e.g., “2010 Winter Games” (Vancouver Sun), “Vancouver Games” (CNN), and “Winter Olympics” (Telegraph). Not surprisingly, news sources in most countries give fullest coverage to their own athletes.

Comprehensive works about the Winter Olympic Games are classed in 796.98 Winter Olympic games, e.g., The Winter Olympics and The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics. 

Works that cover many activities at specific games are also classed in 796.98.  The entry has an arrange-chronologically note: “Arrange specific games chronologically.” At 796.98093–796.98099 Geographic treatment is the note: “Do not use for specific games; class in 796.98.” Examples of works about specific games classed in 796.98 are The Kids' Guide to the 1994 Winter Olympics (held in Lillehammer, Norway), White Gold: The U.S. Olympic Team at the XIX Olympic Winter Games (held in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), and The XX Olympic Winter Games February 10-26, 2006 Torino, Italy: Team Handbook and Media Guide by the Australian Olympic Committee. 

Also at 796.98 Winter Olympic games is the scatter note: “Class a specific activity with the activity, e.g., skating 796.91.” Examples are Olympic Ice Skating, classed in 796.91 Ice skating; Olympic Figure Skating: Greatest Performances in History, classed in 796.912 Figure skating; and Snowboard, classed in 796.939 Snowboarding.

Choice of Literary Period: Individual Authors Who Publish under Pseudonyms or Who Write in More Than One Language

The February 2010 New and Changed Entries (in PDF and Word formats) added two new paragraphs to the “Literary periods” section of the main Manual entry for Table 3A Subdivisions for Works by or about Individual Authors. 

The first new paragraph treats choice of literary period for individual authors who publish under pseudonyms:

If a new name is known to be a pseudonym for an author whose literary period has already been established, use the established period for works attributed to the pseudonym.  For example, if an English author began publishing at the end of the twentieth century and was assigned the period notation 914 for 1945–1999, then began publishing under a new pseudonym in 2001, use the same period notation 914 for works attributed to the new pseudonym (not 92 for 2000–    ).

An example of a work affected by this instruction is Blood Mask: A Novel of Suspense by Lauren Kelly.  Lauren Kelly is a pseudonym that Joyce Carol Oates began using after 2000.  Joyce Carol Oates is an American author who began to flourish during the period 1945–1999, and her literary period notation is 54, from the literary period table at 810.1–818 Subdivisions of American literature.  (For an overview of the relevant publishing history, see WorldCat Identities for Kelly, Lauren 1938–    and Oates, Joyce Carol 1938–    .) According to the new instruction, the literary notation for the pseudonym Lauren Kelly should also be 54.  Thus the correct number for Blood Mask: A Novel of Suspense is 813.54 American fiction—1945–1999 (built with 81, the base number for American literature in English, plus T3A—3 Fiction, plus 54 1945–1999, from the literary period table at 810.1–818 Subdivisions of American literature in English, following instructions at 810.1–818, at the start of Table 3A Subdivisions for Works by or about Individual Authors, and at T3A—31–T3A—39 Fiction of specific periods). 

As explained in a previous blog entry, the Decimal Classification Division (now the Dewey Section) at the Library of Congress had previously made a tentative decision that an author who chose to establish a new literary identity with a new pseudonym in the 21st century should have the new literary period notation assigned to that new pseudonym—but the tentative decision was being reconsidered.  In light of advice received—thank you!—that decision has been reversed.   Thus although the Library of Congress had assigned the literary period notation 6 for 2000–    to Lauren Kelly and had classed Blood Mask: A Novel of Suspense in 813.6, the Library will use 813.54 henceforth for novels published under the pseudonym Lauren Kelly and for other similar pseudonyms.  The Library will not reclassify works already classified according to the earlier decision.

The second new paragraph in the February 2010 New and Changed Entries treats choice of literary period for individual authors who write in more than one language:

Make an exception to the rule of only one literary period for an author if the author wrote in more than one language and flourished during different time periods in different languages: use the appropriate literary period notation for each language. For example, if an author began to flourish as a literary author in Russian during 1917–1945, use the period notation 42 for 1917–1945 for works by that author originally written in Russian. If that same author began to flourish as a literary author in American English after 1945, use the period notation 54 for 1945–1999 for works by that author originally written in English.

Why make an exception to the rule of only one literary period for an author if the author wrote in more than one language and flourished during different time periods in different languages?  Works originally written in different languages will not be classed together; they will be classed with the literature of the original language.  Consequently, there is no reason to use the same literary period for an author in an effort to keep the works of that author together.  It is better to put the works of an author in one language in the literary period most appropriate for that language.

An example of a work affected by this instruction is King, Queen, Knave: A Novel by Vladimir Nabokov “translated by Dmitri Nabokov in collaboration with the author.”  The novel was originally published in Russian in 1928.  (For an overview of the publishing history of Nabokov, see WorldCat Identities for Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich 1899–1977.)  Because Nabokov began to flourish as a literary author in Russian during 1917–1945, the correct class number for King, Queen, Knave: A Novel is 891.7342 Russian fiction—1917–1945 (built with 891.7 Russian literature plus T3A—3 Fiction, plus 42 1917–1945 from the literary period table at 891.701-891.78 Subdivisions of Russian literature, following instructions at 891.701-891.78, at the start of Table 3A Subdivisions for Works by or about Individual Authors, and at T3A—31–T3A—39 Fiction of specific periods). 

Vladimir Nabokov moved to the United States in 1940 and published his first novel in English in 1941, but he began to flourish as an author of American literature in English during the period 1945–1999.  His literary period notation as an author of American literature in English is 54, from the literary period table at 810.1–818 Subdivisions of American literature.  An example of a work affected by the instruction is the novel Lolita.  The novel was first published in English in 1955.  It is classed in 813.54 American fiction—1945–1999.

The Dewey classifiers at the Library of Congress have long followed the policy described in the paragraph about choice of literary period for individual authors who write in more than one language.

Enough already!

Here it is only the middle of February, and several cities in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States (Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia) have set new records for annual snowfall accumulations.  We could wonder if the snow is on steroids, but as that doesn’t make sense, we have to look elsewhere.  The meteorologists have an answer, blaming it on the convergence of cold from a high-latitude blocking pattern (or negative Arctic Oscillation) and moisture from the Pacific Ocean’s El Niño—global forces in action!

As noted in a previous blog entry:

The number for interdisciplinary works on snow is 551.5784 Snow, under 551.57 Hydrometeorology. Comprehensive works on snowstorms go at 551.555 Snowstorms ("Class here blizzards"), under 551.55 Atmospheric disturbances and formations; while works on the social problems caused by snowstorms, and the social services provided in response, are classed at 363.34925, adding to base number 363.3492 (Disasters caused by weather conditions) the number 5 that follows 551.55 in 551.555.

In this blog entry, we’ll further explore the classifying of subjects on the weather side of our recent epic snowstorms; a subsequent blog entry will explore various ramifications of the snow, including specific social services rendered in response to the storms.

As explained in a story on National Public Radio (NPR),

the Arctic Oscillation refers to shifts in atmospheric pressure over the Arctic and the middle latitudes of the earth. In its positive phase, atmospheric pressure decreases over the Arctic and increases over the mid-latitudes. In the Arctic Oscillation's negative phase, it's just the reverse. Pressures are relatively high over the Arctic and relatively low over the mid-latitudes.

Comprehensive works on sea-level atmospheric pressure shifts of this sort should be classed in 551.543 Atmospheric pressure variations over time at earth's surface.   But a do-not-use note at 551.54309 instructs us to class geographic treatment of such pressure variations in 551.5409.  The number for the Arctic Oscillation is thus 551.5409113  (built with 551.54 Atmospheric pressure, plus T1—091 Treatment by areas, regions, places in general, plus 13, the numbers following 1 in T2—113 Arctic regions, following instructions at T1—091).  Works on the effects of El Niño’s warming of equatorial Pacific Ocean surface waters should be classed in 551.52464 Pacific Ocean-atmosphere interactions (built with 551.5246 Ocean-atmosphere interactions, plus 4, the number following T2—16 in T2—164 Pacific Ocean, following instructions at 551.52463–551.52467); note the Relative Index term Ocean temperatures—meteorological effect at 551.5246.

Given the extreme meteorological conditions of this winter, how accurate have the weather forecasts been?  Three to four days before each of the major snow events of the winter, we had but little hint of how big the storm would turn out to be, although we generally had a good idea that we would receive some snow as of a certain day.  As the snow day approached, the ranges predicted became increasingly more accurate.  Methods of forecasting snow are classed in 551.64784 (built with 551.64 Forecasting of specific phenomena, plus 784, the numbers following 551.5 in 551.5784 Snow, following the instruction at 551.641–551.647).

Sinosauropteryx

Various news articles have reported on a study of the Sinosauropteryx and related dinosaurs, e.g., “Study Offers an Insight into Dinosaur Colors” (New York Times) and “Dinosaur Had Ginger Feathers” (BBC).  These articles were responding to a report published online in Nature, “Fossil Feathers Reveal Dinosaurs' True Colours.”   The BBC article begins:

Meet Sinosauropteryx, a very spiky little dinosaur.

A team of scientists from China and the UK has now revealed that the bristles of this 125-million-year-old dinosaur were in fact ginger-coloured feathers.

The researchers say that the diminutive carnivore had a “Mohican” of feathers running along its head and back. It also had a striped tail.

Works on the Sinosauropteryx are classed in 567.912 Saurischia, e.g., Sinosauropteryx--Mysterious Feathered Dinosaur.

How does a cataloger know that Sinosauropteryx should be classed in 567.912 Saurischia?    The entry has the class-here note: “Class here Theropoda (carnivorous dinosaurs).” The online report in Nature includes this:

The team discovered the melanosomes in fossils of the suborder Theropoda, the branch of the dinosaur family tree to which the flesh-eating species Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus belong. However, it was not in these two iconic dinosaurs that the organelles were found, but in smaller species that ran around low to the ground with tiny feathers or bristles distributed across their bodies.
. . . . .
Fossils of one theropod dinosaur, Sinosauropteryx, reveal that it had light and dark feathered stripes along the length of its tail.

Other sources also point to 567.912 Saurischia.  For example, the LCSH authority record for Sinosauropteryx has this information in the source-data-found field:

Sinosauropteryx/Enchanted learning software WWW site, July 20, 2004 (genus: Sinosauropteryx; family: Compsognathidae; order: Saurischia; class: Archosauria).

Here is a link to the Enchanted Learning site’s “Sinosauropteryx Fact Sheet.”  Encyclopædia Britannica Online mentions Sinosauropteryx in “Dinosaur Descendants” while discussing evidence that “that birds (class Aves) evolved from small theropod dinosaurs.”

Since Sinosauropteryx is only one of many theropod dinosaurs, the topic Sinosauropteryx is in standing room at 567.912; standard subdivisions could not be added for a work about Sinosauropteryx.